Huckleberry
by Liza MMX
Summary: Cecelia Grimes has lost a lot in her years, hell, who hasn't? Then, the zombie apocalypse hits, sending her into an emotional downward spiral. Is what she once had with an ex still there, or will she find love else where? Can she keep her sanity, all while being strong for her godson? (First 2 chapters revised!)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Wow, have I been gone a long time! Jiminy Christmas, has it really been a year?! I've decided to start anew, my lovelies. This time focusing on my recent obsession, The Walking Dead. I've been planning this one for about a month now. But this is just a test chapter. It will be (possibly) reworked, at a later date. **

**~Chapter 1~ **

Cecelia Grimes let out a small shuttering breath, as she hugged the small, sick, boy to her side. He'd fallen asleep again, the vomiting he'd done in the last 24 hours exhausting the poor lad. She licked her dry lips, keeping her eyes on the road in front of her, the window to the massive pick-up truck down, trying to help circulate what could barely pass for air in the humid Georgia heat.

The truck was at a standstill, and had been for at least two hours. With half a tank of gas left, and no gas for God only knows how much distance, she wasn't taking any chances.

The small boy coughed, causing Cecelia to jump. She put a hand to his temple, gently pulling him flush against her, as she kissed the top of his head. He still had no fever. The relief of this simple lack of symptom still overwhelmed her, as she was sure of one thing: the little 8 year old at her side wasn't infected with this...disease. Wasn't going to die a horrible, painful death the same way his mother had. Wasn't going to rise from the dead and strip the skin from some poor person. What ever the cause of his vomiting, be it the lack of proper food, sleep, the heat, or a mix and match of all three, he'd not been bitten or scratched by one of those...things.

She let out a mirthless chuckle. If you had told Cecelia two months ago that the apocalypse would happen, in all honesty, she wouldn't be too surprised. However, if you had told her that zombies would rise up and eat begin taking bites out of people, that she _would_ be shocked at. Zombies were for those video games and horror films she'd always loved so much, not for real life. But that's exactly what happened.

She rose up in her seat as she saw two walking figures in the distance, gripping the hilt of the machete strapped to her outer left thigh. "Aiden," she whispered to him. The boy moaned and cracked open one chocolate brown eye. "Stay here. I'm gonna go check it out, if anything happens-"

"-I don't try to play hero. I know, Aunt Ellie." He cut her off grumbling.

She smiled and kissed his forehead. "I love you," she said with a watery smile. "Roll-"

"-up the windows, yeah yeah."

She opened the door, pulling out the machete when her five foot, two inch frame stepped onto the hot asphalt. She swiftly walked towards the two figures, machete poised and ready to strike. "Whoa there, Shorty!" came a familiar voice from the taller of the two figures that were still at least 20 feet in front of her, the haze from the hot, summer sun making it hard to see. She lowered the weapon immediately, as the figures got closer.

"Goddammit, Jake, what'd I say 'bout callin' over the radio, before comin' back?!" She asked in a tired voice.

The taller man just chuckled. "Tyler here didn't notice we had low battery 'till after we'd scouted it." He clapped a thick hand on the shorter man's shoulder, that wide shit-eating grin of his damn near swallowing the bottom half of his face, while poor Tyler just looked embarrassed.

"Big" Jake Thompson was just that. Big. The man was a good six foot, five inches, and had to weigh at least two hundred and fifty pounds. He was a loud roughneck, born and bred somewhere just south of Nashville, Tennessee, and proud owner and operator of Big Jake's Bar just outside of downtown Nashville. The large man hadn't known Cecelia (who he'd lovingly dubbed "Short Stack", and various other nicknames containing the rood word 'short', in the two months they'd known each other), Tyler, or young Aiden from Adam when the three companions stumbled into his bar shortly after all hell broke loose in Nashville.

Tyler Roberts, on the other hand, had known and lived with her for five years, meeting in college, the two quickly becoming fast friends over video games, movies, and the arts. He was about 5'9, with a very slim body. With his mop of black hair always in his face, Cecelia had always teased him about having, what she'd dubbed "emo hair".

Cecelia ran her hand through her light brown, almost strawberry blonde hair, as she closed her tired light green eyes, letting out a very deep sigh, walking ahead of the two men and back to the truck.

"So?" The question from her lips was simple, as she ripped the passenger door open, then the glove box and pulling out the map she'd picked up outside the local rest area that'd been infested with those damned zombies. Aiden raised his head as she handed the kid the half full water bottle out of the glove box, the boy was obviously dehydrated.

"Where're Pretty Boy and Valley Bitch?" Jake asked looking behind the truck for the light blue Ford Focus that was supposed to be there.

"They went to that gas station we spotted about a mile back." Cecelia explained.

"They couldn't 've fucking walked?" Tyler grumbled.

She snorted. "You expect Catherine to do actual work?"

An exasperated and bored sigh came over the radio attached to the woman's hip. _"Leah, we're coming back. Nothing here."_ Cecelia rolled her eyesin frustration.

"Come on back, you guys," she said into the walkie, trying her hardest to resist banging her head into the hood of the truck. Jake glanced at Aiden and the water bottle he'd yet to open. "Drink it, kid," he demanded softly. Aiden quickly obeyed.

Tyler grabbed the map from her hands, flattened it out on the hood of the truck, pointing to the good sized, blue spot on the map in front of his friend. "That's the quarry with the lake," he sighed.

"No shit, Dick Tracy," Cecelia grumbled.

Ignoring her, Tyler's finger slid to the left a bit. "And we're about tree to five miles all the way over here."

"What'd ya see?" she asked, looking a him.

"Someone has set up camp down there."

The woman groaned, slamming the heel of her hand into her forehead.

"So, what do'we do, boss lady?" Jake's laughed from behind her. She glared at him as a familiar sky blue Ford Focus came into view, parking behind the larger truck.

"Ugh, why does it have to be so hot?" complained Catherine, as she stepped out of passenger side of the car.

"Catherine," her brother, Jason, warned, getting out of the car and standing next to his sister.

Jason Walker and his younger sister Catherine where trust fund babies. While Catherine looked and acted the part to a "T", Jason was a tad more down to earth. Both were blonde haired and blue eyed and dressed in expensive clothing, even in the zombie apocalypse. As up to this point, Catherine seemed to moan and complain the whole way about every small chore she was given. They were nice kids, just a bit snotty.

Tyler leaned down next to Cecelia's ear, "She's beginning to make me regret saving their asses," he hissed. His short friend shot him a look he couldn't quite read.

"Suck it up, Tinkerbell," she called out to the whining blonde. "Okay, guys, here's the skinny." Cecelia said cracking her neck. "Jake and Tyler went out to the hill just above that clearing above the quarry on the map. There's already a camp set up. My plan is, me, Jake, and Ty head down there with the Wonder Twins here," she nodded to the blonde siblings, "staying with Aiden. Bright side, we run into some nice little locals that allow us to piggy back on their little fuckin' camping trip for a few days. Not so bright side, we run into a bunch of ass holes that get violent, and we're forced to compromise 'em."

"And... if the camp has those...things walking around?" Jason asked, grimacing.

"If they're not to bad, we take 'em out, and strip the camp of all it's got. We radio either way. Agreed y'all?"

"No," came Aiden's voice from the open window in front of her. Cecelia furrowed her brow. "I wanna go, too. I'll sit in the truck Aunt Ellie, I promise, just lemme come with you."

"Ah, let the brat come, Short Stack. He won't bother nothin'," Jake said with a grin.

Cecelia worried her bottom lip between her teeth for a minute, as Aiden stared up at her with his big brown eyes.

"Fine, but he's getting the knife." She said, grabbing the medium sized hunting knife from the still open glove box, handing it to the triumphant eight year old.

* * *

"Jake, stop the truck, I can't see right with it moving." Cecelia said, hanging out the rear passenger side window, binoculars focusing on the camp below.

Jake did as instructed. Cecelia squinted, trying to see without being seen. If the camp was full of hostiles, she wasn't taking chances. She took notice of the vehicles first. "Mmkay," she muttered, more to herself, than her friends. "Looks like there's an RV, a Jeep, and a truck. I can't make out the other vehicles."

Then she saw it. Movement. It wasn't the lumbering she was used to seeing when facing the zombies. No. This movement was conscious. People milling about. Smoke rising from a small pit.

"There 're people down there," she sighed. "Honest to God people." She smiled at Jake and Tyler and ruffled Aiden's hair while picking up the radio. "Hey, Jason."

"_Yeah?"_

"They got people. We're checking it out."

"_Gotcha, we'll stand watch. Let us know if something happens."_

"Roger." She cut the transmission.

"Think they might be cool?" Tyler asked.

"I hope so," she said with a sad smile. "Mmkay, here's the plan. Jake, you and Tyler go make friendly. I stay with the Aiden, so he doesn't get any bright ideas. Big Jake, you be nice."

Jake chuckled. "You got it, boss."

The truck came to a stop as Jake and Tyler stepped out of the vehicle. They were quickly approached by a few people, Cecelia not being able to see who. The rest of the camp keeping a distance between themselves and the new visitors, weapons at the ready. She could hear Jake bellowing to the person in front of him, apparently the leader deciding their fate of stay or go,"We got women and a fuckin' kid!"

Tyler was clearly attempting to play peacemaker, and it wasn't working. Jake lunged for the person in front of him, and Cecelia jumped out of the truck, running and grabbing his arm whipping him around.

"I thought I told you to play nice, Jake!" she scolded. "Take a walk."

Jake tried to ignore her, seething at the man behind him. "JAKE!" he turned to face her then. "Take...a walk." And with that, Jake stomped away, leaning against the tailgate of the truck.

Cecelia slowly turned. "Now, surely we can-" She was cut off at the sight of a familiar face. "...Shane?"

The man in front of her looked at her as though he'd seen a ghost. "Cecelia?" he croaked.

**A/N: Wow, that was long chapter! Longest It think I've ever written, to be honest. I know, I know, I didn't go into detail about Rick, Lori, Carl, Shane, or Leah's relationship to Aiden, but I swear it'll happen in the next chapter. Lemme know what you guys think. I'll rework the chapter at some point. Until next time, my dears!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm so glad so many of you like the story so far! Okay, this chapter will be told in flashback, which will be in **_Italicized _**print, and separated by page breaks. As per usual, I do not own The Walking Dead. Though, I wouldn't mind borrowing Daryl or Shane for a bit ;)**

**A/N: (edited) Yes, I rewrote it for the most part. This way, I can take it in kind of a new direction. I felt like I'd written myself into a corner with the last copy, so here you guys go! A new revised version!**

_**2 months before the disease outbreak**_

"_And shepherds we shall be _

_For thee m'lord, for thee_

_Power hath descended forth from Thy hand_

_That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command_

_So we shall flow a river forth to thee_

_And teeming with souls shall it ever be_

_In Nomine Patris_

_Et Filii_

_Et Spiritus Sancti," Cecelia quoted as she curled into the giant Georgia Bulldogs fleece blanket wrapped around her._

_As the credits to The Boondock Saints rolled, her phone rang. _

"_Fucking seriously?!" Tyler asked from his seat at the other end of the futon. "If that's fucking him, that's the fifth goddamned time tonight."_

_Cecelia looked at the screen of her phone. **'**_Shane'_ it read. "That fucking does it," she growled. "I'm answering it." _

_She hit the screen of her phone angrily with her thumb. "What the fuck do you want Shane?! What is so goddamned important that you had to call me five times?! Because, if you're calling me to tell me you lo-"_

"_It's Rick," she heard Shane's voice say on the other line. There was a shuddering...a **fear** in his voice that made Cecelia's blood run cold. _

"_What happened?" She asked, fearing for the worst. There wasn't an answer. "Shane," she said with a firmer tone to her voice."What happened to my brother?" Tyler raised off the futon, and Cecelia put a hand up to stop him._

"_He...he got shot, Cessie."_

"_Is he alive?" she whispered, tears stinging her eyes. _

"_Just got out of surgery," came the choked reply. _

"_I'm on my way now. Harrison Memorial?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_Meet__ you there."_

* * *

_Cecelia sprinted through the doors of Harrison Memorial Hospital, nearly knocking down an older gentleman as she reached the reception desk. "Rick Grimes," she panted. "What room is Rick Grimes in?"_

_The receptionist quirked an eyebrow as she pulled Rick's information. "320"_

_Cecelia gave a half 'Thank you' as she sprinted for the elevator. She impatiently pushed the 'Up' button multiple times, quickly ducking into the elevator when the doors were half opened. She practically put her thumb through the '3' she jammed it so hard, and tapped her feet. She nearly smacked into the doors as they opened at level 3. _

_Things seemed to move in slow motion as she ran down the third floor corridor, ducking out of the nurses' paths, looking for the right room. When she found it, she made a wide swing to run through the door, smacking into a hard, and all to familiar chest. _

_The arms connected to said chest grabbed her shoulders and pulled her at arms length. _

"_Cessie," Shane breathed. Her eyes flashed as she quickly side-stepped him and walked in to the room, making sure to roughly bump her shoulder into his bicep as she passed. _

_Tears blurred her vision when her eyes landed on the man in the hospital bed, his vibrant blue eyes closed. His jaw relaxed as if asleep. There were a few similarities between the man who lay in the bed and Cecelia. Their face shapes were essentially the same, only hers had a bit of a feminine curve to it. Her lips were plumper than his. His nose larger than hers, though both had a Roman curve to it. It was clear they were related, though most people seemed to assume they were cousins. But he was her older brother, 8 years her senior. He was stronger, always had been. Seeing her brother, Richard Carl Grimes, weak and broken in this hospital bed with a life threatening gunshot wound seemed so wrong to her. _

_Her voice was thick with tears, when she finally found the courage to speak, not taking her eyes off of her brother. "He gonna be alright?"_

_Shane let out a deep sigh. Even though she had her back to him, she knew he was running his hand through that very short, thick, black hair of his. It'd been a bad habit of his as long as she could remember._

"_The doctors 're sayin' he's in a coma. That the shock from the wound put him into it, and that it's up to his body to wake up, now."_

_A very uncomfortable and pregnant silence followed. Whether it was minutes or hours, she didn't know. All she **did** know was that his eyes were boring into her back, as if he were trying to see through her. _

"_You gonna tell me what the fuck happened, or are you just gonna stand there starin' at me?" This time, she looked at him._

"_We got a call for back-up, Cess. Couple of guys in a high speed chase. Dispatch said there was only two. They flipped the car and started shootin' at us. Took one down, but the other got Rick in the chest. Don't worry, he was wearing a vest," he added quickly, seeing her cover her mouth in shock, tears threatening to spill over. "There was a third man in the car. No one saw him until it was to late. He shot and caught Rick in the side. Cess, I swear I didn't see him. I'd never let anyth-"_

_Cecelia put her hand up to silence him and glanced over her shoulder at her brother lying in the hospital bed, and looked back at Shane. "I believe you, Shane." She let out a deep breath, and walked over to the bed, sitting in the chair that was left next to it, and grabbing Rick's left hand. There was another long silence, though this one wasn't as uncomfortable as the last one, nor did it seem as long. Without looking at Shane, she broke the silence. _

"_You know that when he wakes up, we gotta tell him."_

_Shane scoffed behind her, as though she'd just told a bad joke._

"_I'm serious, Shane. He can't die not knowin'."_

_Shane scoffed again, though this time it was a little more cruel. "Ain't no use. It's over and done with. I wanted to fix it, but, no," he said bitterly. _

_She turned in her seat, her eyes dangerously flashing."The fuck did you expect me to do, moron? Take you back? After what you fucking did to me?" Her voice was quiet, but deadly. In that moment, Shane was thankful looks couldn't kill. He decided to test the waters and stepped closer. Her eyes never left him._

"_Try to forgive me, at least."_

_Her face contorted in disgust as she studied the man in front of her. He still looked the same. The same strong, square jaw that she'd seen set in concentration or anger so many times over the years. The same thick, curly black hair that she'd run her fingers through when he was upset. The same lips she'd kissed a thousand times. The same stubble around his mouth and lower jaw that she had loved to feel against the inside of her thighs while in those intimate moments they'd shared. Here was a man she had gone through so much emotional turmoil with, yet he still acted like nothing had changed. He was acting like she was the insane one. _

_Her voice raised. "Shane, I-" she was cut off by a sniffle in the direction of doorway. Turning her head at the direction of the sound that had interrupted her would-be-rant, she caught sight of a tall, very thin woman with shoulder length brown hair cradling a sniffling ten year-old boy that greatly resembled Rick. She shot Shane a look that clearly read '**We'll talk about this later**'._

"_Lori, Carl," Cecelia said, her voice cracking slightly as the tears rolled down her cheeks. She stood from her seat and walked to stand about 15 feet from the doorframe._

"_Aunt Leah," Carl whimpered, rushing to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Cecelia knelt down slightly to where she was just a tad shorter than him and wrapped him in a tight hug. She sniffed, wiped her eyes quickly, and pulled back, looking into Carl's eyes. Her brother's eyes. _

"_S'gonna be okay, little man," she said, though whether it was more for his benefit or her's she wasn't sure. "He'll pull through it. He's a tough man, your daddy."_

_Carl nodded, wiping his eyes as Cecelia stood up to her full height, and shakily walked over to Lori, her sister-in-law, who had now stepped just inside the doorway._

_She put a hesitant, yet comforting hand on the older woman's shoulder, and lightly squeezed before she removed it. _

"_The doctor says-"_

"_Shane already told me, Lori," she said gently. "And, for all it's worth, I know he wants to make it back to you and Carl as soon as he can. He loves you both so much."_

_Lori nodded in thanks, tears rolling down her cheeks, before she hugged the shorter woman tightly. Cecelia was in shock, standing limply for a few seconds, her mouth gaping like a bass as her sister-in-law hugged her. In the 11 years Rick and Lori had been together, the two women had hated one another, and both had (very verbally, mind you) expressed their distaste for the other. _

_Before Lori could pull away, Cecelia hugged her back, just as tightly. _

_Shane, finally getting the feeling he wasn't wanted, or needed, slightly ruffled Carl's hair, and walked out the door. _

**A/N: There we are. A bit of character development! I'm sorry I'm not pushing these out faster, guys. I work quite a bit, and it takes a bit outta me, but I try and work on these every day, even if it's just a few sentences. If y'all could review and/or PM me, and give me a bit of criticism, that'd be great! Some Cecelia/Shane character development is coming in the next chapter. **


	3. Important Author's Note!

Hi, guys! Yeah, I know, "Boo, Author's Note in at the 3rd chapter!", but this is regarding my updating. I revised the first two chapters, and I'm currently brainstorming how I'm going to lay out the next chapter. Kind of, constructing the basic skeleton, if you will. I don't know when it'll be up, since, as I posted in a previous A/N, I'm exhausted when I get home from work, but I'm trying everyday, I swear! Hopefully, if and when I get caught up with the show, I can do a Boondock Saints fic, but, right now, it's just wishful thinking.

Thanks to all that have followed/favorited so far, and to those that review in the future!

With love,

Liza


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